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My daughter and I will be in London for 4 days, so I ordered four child 1-day Travelcards and four adult 1-day Travelcards. The form just asked for the start date -- there were no warnings or prompts about how to order different 1-day Travelcards for specific (different) days. I didn't know ... thought maybe they barcoded them or had some kind of way to determine how long a card had been used.

Anyhow, the cards arrived and all eight are for the same day.

I contacted Visit Britain and they say sorry, they have a no-refund, no-exchange policy, even if I go to London *before* the cards expire, with my order form in hand as proof that I'm not trying to defraud anyone. Nope, sorry. They apologize for the inconvenience. When I combed back through the online order form, I confirmed that there are no instructions about how to order different-day Travelcards. It *is* explained in the FAQs that you order one day at a time, then at Checkout click "Continue shopping" and order the next day and so on, but that information is nowhere on the order form.

So obviously at this point I wish I'd just gotten Travelcards on the spot (ironically, I was trying to save us some time standing in line), but it's too late for that now.

Any suggestions, other than to chalk this up to a $70 life lesson? Do you think it's worth trying to sell them on eBay or StubHub? They're all for Nov. 1 so there is some time ... but I don't know how credible that would look. Just trying to avoid having to pay double for something that I don't think should be such a complicated thing to resolve in the first place.

That's what I thought, too ... I understand not exchanging or refunding them past their expiry date, but in my mind this is separate. Their order form is not clear, and as soon as I realized my mistake, I contacted them.

The email I got from VisitBritan said:

"Unfortunately we are unable to offer refunds on printed travel cards.

We also do not offer a replacement service for these cards once in London.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience this will cause."

I've emailed the customer service rep again, explaining that I'm not asking for a refund, I'm asking for an exchange, and alternatively I'm willing to ship them by expedited courier at my expense (with a prepaid return envelope) so they can be exchanged, if that is more agreeable.

This was not the best way to go, it looks like a 1-week pass is less than 4 individual 1-day passes so ordering those would have prevented the problem. Also, you didn't buy from the source, Transport for London, but used a vendor (Visit Britain) who are acting as a middleman.

You could try contacting Transport for London directly, they may switch them for you. Explain that the Visit Britain shopping experience is not as clear as the Transport for London webpage.

Thanks, Tom. I started with TfL but thought, from the info on that site, that since I'm from the US I had to go through VisitBritain? In hindsight it's pretty clear I made a couple mistakes ... if I continue with no progress from VisitBritain, I'll contact TfL. Thanks.

It's just very weird to me that we could not exchange the 1-day TravelCards at any tube stop with an office, as long as we did so before the cards' expiry date and had an original receipt/proof of purchase with us. I'm not asking for money back, only for the correct product.

Bonzai, Lincasanova -- you may have nailed it! On that same TfL page, I found this (though it only talks about 7-day Travelcards, not 1-day):

"We can also refund a Travelcard, or a Bus & Tram Pass season ticket issued on your Oyster card, or a printed season ticket. We charge an admin fee for this service.

To get a refund at a Tube station ticket office, you must bring the debit or credit card that you used to buy the tickets or pay as you go credit. The maximum cash refund value at a Tube station ticket office is £250.

Download and complete an application for refund form, attach any tickets or supporting evidence and take it to your nearest Tube station ticket office."

Thanks -- fingers crossed! Of course, it looks like we'll still be out the money for a while, but maybe with a bit of luck they could coordinate the exchange on the spot ... or refund the money and we can buy a 7-day Travelcard.

If none of those things work, as a last resort I might contact my bank and see if they can reverse the charge. That would probably be the most direct way to handle it, especially if I surrender the tickets so there's no question of having something for nothing. Not sure how it would work with the international aspect, though.

Aarrggh I could just kick myself for trying to take care of all this ahead of time instead of waiting 'til we got to London! I was trying to save time and instead it's made a frustrating mess of this part of our trip.

I really think you have two options as Patrick said above. Contact TFL now, if that doesn't work throw yourself at the mercy of the person at the ticket booth when you get here.

Technically you did buy 4 tickets to all start on the same day - how would the system know you wanted them spread over 4 days without you putting the dates in? If the start date is X and you ordered 4 I would expect them all to start on the same day.

If it's before the date of validity, by them tearing them up and issuing new ones for the actual dates desired. TfL won't have lost anything on the deal, and will have gained a bit of goodwill (or avoided illwill). I'm sure they have a procedure for issuing replacements for lost tickets, so it's only an accounting issue (and who cares about worrying accountants ?)

If you ordered the London Travelcard it does give you the process for ordering the cards. You put your start date in, how many cards, etc. (which you said you did). Also states that it is one day only and if you want to use more than one day you have to order each day separately.

"Please note: For example, if you wish to have a one day travelcard for three different dates, you will need to repeat the above process three times." (quote from the travelcard website)

I believe the travelcards are date stamped for the dates you request so think you can't return/exchange them.

I think I would wait until you get to London and just purchase additional cards for your other dates. If you selected a start date for the cards you have, then just use the # of cards you need for that date. You would be stuck w/ the other cards/tickets but perhaps you could sell them to someone else in London for that date. At least you won't have lost all your money.

Yes, I saw that info a day or so ago, but I ordered these through Visit Britain back in August, and their order form is not that straightforward.

I guess I'll take my chances in London ... we're scheduled to arrive late on the night before the Travelcards kick in, so the next day I'll just try to find a friendly-looking customer service person first thing in the morning.

Obviously I've learned a lesson from all this, but I think I will have learned it just as well with an exchange, vs. losing $70 on the deal. It's not like these are brass plates that were custom-engraved with someone's wedding date. They're little pieces of paper with a date stamped on them. All I'd like is comparable little pieces of paper with different dates stamped on them.

I find tfl customer service usually quite helpful (over things like damaged oyster cards etc). I think the 'throw yourself on their mercy' advice above is spot on. Admit right up front that it is your mistake and that you realise they are not duty-bound to help you, but that you would be really grateful/appreciative if there is anything they could do. Flies and honey

Totally agree RM67, I have always found them to be really helpful so I think there is a good chance you wont have a problem. Do it first thing in the morning though so there is no chance that you could have used them. Check that the station you are using has a ticket office open at that hour www.tfl.gov.uk

Are you arriving at Heathrow? If so I would deal with it on arrival at the tube station there so there is NO chance that you have used the cards yet. I am not sure they can check that and if you show up at 11am and try to exchange them it is less likely they will do it.

We'll be coming in from the north, arriving late the night before at KGX. Not sure which would be best -- checking at KGX the day *before* the first cards could even be used (but later in the day, where the customer service reps might be worn out from dealing with people all day), or first thing in the morning on the first day the tickets are valid.

BigRuss, the whole Oyster thing has been confusing to me (if you travel a lot in one day, the Travelcards seemed a more economical choice at the time, though I realize now that with a daily pay cap that may not be accurate).

Really, though, how much does it matter at this point WHY I didn't get them? I made a mistake. I admit that. I'm trying to correct that. If I can't correct it, I'll live with it.

Yes as BigRuss says you are missing out on the 2 for 1 offers at most paying sights by not having a paper travel card issued in London by a national rail station. Try to refund them all and get a paper Travel Card for the days you are going to expensive museums or places and get 2 for 1 entry.

Thanks. This is not a "touristy" trip -- college-hunting with daughter -- so the 2-for-1 offers aren't a big draw for us. We're aiming for free attractions only this time around. And agreed, Lincasanova -- first world problems. We'll be OK no matter what.

Go and have a great visit with your family! Put what happened behind you and move forward, you will drive yourself crazy thinking about it. I always say, "it is what it is" when we travel. You and your daughter will love London so won't even think about your mistake.

Here's a great website that I used to plan our London trip, has great info on it!

Maybe your daughter would like to do the Harry Potter Tour if she/you are fans!

We did an all-day bus tour with Evan Evans which included admission to 3 places: 1) Tower of London (absolutely wonderful, do not miss); 2) St. Paul's Cathedral (again wonderful to see); 3) river cruise on Thames). We saw a lot in one day.

Quick update -- your advice is spot-on. When we arrived at KGX I explained my mistake to the rep at the ticket counter and asked if it might be possible to exchange some of the TravelCards. He had to check with his supervisor but then cheerfully exchanged them in fewer than five minutes.

Huge relief. Thanks for your counsel! I'll be careful not to lose the lesson on this one.

My dumb travel mistake last August: Got both outbound and return Metro/RER tickets at Charles de Gaulle for the trip into Paris and back for three of us. One morning, mixed-up the return cards (worth about 9 Euro each) with the regular carnet (worth just over 1 Euro each) and used the 9-Euro airport tickets for a short Metro ride for each of the three of us. Uff da.

But that was the worst thing that happened the entire Paris/Pittsburgh/Ohio/California/Vegas/Arizona trip that lasted a month, so maybe it was good luck.